Chapter 11 Days with Harry-1

Generally, whenever the United States encounters a war, there will be a situation in which many historical rivers converge into one. At this time, all strata of the country will regard this struggle as a whole, because everyone has a part in it, and everyone fights it, even though it may be indirect. of.But things have changed, and the trends of all walks of life will part ways and go their own way.Have you ever remembered that there was such a week in that year: the State Department signed a reciprocal trade agreement with a foreign country, several companies merged on Wall Street, a fire and water-stained goods sale was held on the streets of New York, the city of Pine Bluff ran for beauty, a young man The housewife remembered that she had spread a precious oriental rug at this time, and the World Baseball League attracted fifty million fans across the United States.

For those who study the dynamics of American presidents, the four years, ten months, and ten days from the victory over Japan to the outbreak of the Korean War are really eventful.During this time, something was always going on in Washington, and Harry Truman was always involved.For example, on one occasion when he visited Mexico, the President of Mexico accompanied him to visit an active volcano, and Harry said, "Compared to what we have in the United States, this is nothing!" Of course, there are many important things in addition to this.Truman's perspective on the problem is indeed extraordinary.He is the president, and whoever is in a high position doesn't only care about the future of the country!

The gap between these two wars is undoubtedly an era of earth-shaking.Yes, it was peaceful: the guns were silent, the bombers were not flying, the warships were at anchor, and the marines were doing push-ups.For those who were born in the Depression and grew up in the War, it was a transition, a respite.During these peaceful days, a generation of college graduates who are obsessed with rock and dance music (this generation is likely to become leaders in all walks of life in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s) have all returned to the arms of their former girlfriends and today's young women up. "You know what you're about," Elspeth Rostow said to her husband one morning during the Bay of Pigs crisis in 1961, "you little WWII officers, now it's your turn to be in charge! "

Later, in the Johnson era, a popular joke in Washington described the capital as "full of powerful men and their wives who married when they were young and ignorant".This statement is sarcasm, and according to its meaning, it is not accurate to say that the marriage after the war was nothing more than a temporary misstep in this generation's triumphant journey.For those young demobilized soldiers and newlyweds, the late 1940s was not a good time for them to be happy and vowed to each other, and the smoke of hope was burning in the treasure of their hearts! Young, never disabled, already It's a blessing; getting married is dedicating oneself to the other party, giving each other a gift of love, which is a joy of love; it is like a colorful and dazzling movie scene connected by youthful enthusiasm, and pop music is interrupted. If you continue, the sound, color, smell, and taste change endlessly; it is also like the advertisement picture outside the window of the double-decker bus on Fifth Avenue, which is glimpsed from the front passenger's coat collar; it is nothing more than buying Returning the white margarine in the plastic bag, pinching the yellow pills in the bag to turn it into a milky yellow color; it is nothing more than making homemade toner for wall painting, and other trivial things around; also, the couple sleeps on the bed and smokes non-stop , What a pleasure; and in another ten years, this fun will be greatly eclipsed.

Being married also meant playing guessing games with other new couples; The first batch of Ford and Chevrolet cars after the war, buying new-style shirts that are washable, quick-drying, and scratchy; it means that she still sews her private money into a big flower skirt; it means that she After going to the doctor for an examination, you took her out and had lunch in a small restaurant and she said she was really happy, so the two celebrated happily; it meant the magical feeling of touching her first-born breasts; and, lying in bed on weekends In bed, you choked up when she read the script "Death of a Salesman"; Diss Piaf and Paul Robertson singing on that old floor-standing radio that sits right over the faded wall; 10-inch or 12-inch LPs from Columbia Records that summer at 33.3 rpm; LPs, then a sudden craving for old-fashioned 78s; married life meant hanging out at the Knicks and Eddie Condon after a few hours at "country" nightclubs, or along the way. The deserted 52nd Street Stroll (Petrillo knocked out rock dance music, paved the way for Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie's screeching "progressive" jazz "Bobop," right here).You stand with your head bowed outside the bar at the Jamie Ryan nightclub when the lights are dimming.

At this time, the society gradually advocates individuality and pays attention to fun.Men who have never met each other embroider patterns on socks; call money "mula" and call "hoba! hoba" to passing girls; play petanque every Monday and send a singing telegram to friends at 3 o'clock in the morning , let the newspaperman sing it to him, tie little brass bells to the newlyweds' spring mattress, and eavesdrop outside the door, imitating Franklin Roosevelt and saying, "I will never fight, and neither will Eleanor." War"; put on a Robert Hult suit on Sunday, tie a sprig of foxtail on the radio antenna, hang a pair of baby's shoes from the rear-view mirror of the car, and clean the car every Saturday morning , greet each other with Chinglish like "Longtimenosee" ("long time no see"), married young women go to the market with hair curlers on their heads, chewing gum in their mouths; they will take the whole family to Watch movies like "Four Girls in a Jeep" and "The Battle of Iwo Jima", but definitely not "Mr. Verdu", because "Rank" magazine revealed that the protagonist Charlie Chaplin is a red gangster.

The little ones are now in their teens (the word teenage first appeared in the January 7, 1945, issue of The New York Times Magazine) and are coming into their own.Families that don't like kids roaming around can still keep them in the house.Margaret Truman wrote in her 1956 memoir, "The Souvenir," that she was still called "'the little Truman girl'—I, like any teenager, was ashamed of that. It's a nasty title." Outside the White House, however, this "youth power" is changing the mood, often too loudly or in bad taste, making older Americans grumble.As for the younger children, they make scooters out of the wooden box slats for holding oranges and the wheels of roller skates, and ride on them, enjoying it endlessly.

At this time, there were ten times more popular songs than in the 1930s, and there were 500,000 jukeboxes nationwide, earning its owners 250 million dollars a year, but it was all nickels.The songs themselves were worthless, and the lyrics were forgettable, but jukeboxes were popular.Young people simply adore this machine.A middle school named Scarborough in the Hudson Valley, a graduating class of 1947, gave a jukebox as a gift to the school, and parents and teachers watched with laughter. It was during the years of the Truman administration that America began to irrevocably become a member of the family of nations. On Christmas 1941, the weather was cold, and Churchill was a guest at the White House. In the middle of the night, Roosevelt had an idea and came up with the name "United Nations". "Time" magazine said in its January 10, 1942 issue that "the neologism United Nations" had crept into the world's vocabulary.Before that year, according to a survey by Fortune magazine, only 63% of American voters were in favor of the United States joining international organizations.By March 1944, 68% were in favor.In the same year, a comprehensive survey was conducted among college students, and the proportion of those in favor of the United States sending a permanent delegation to the United Nations was 50:1.This was also endorsed by Sumner Wells, who wrote a persuasive book called "A Moment of Choice" in which he advocated the organization of a world government.It was recommended by the Book of the Month Association as a masterpiece in August 1944, and nearly 500,000 copies were sold.Rep. Fulbright of Arkansas suggested supporting "the creation of an appropriate international institution with appropriate powers to secure and maintain a just and lasting peace among nations...with the participation of the United States of America in such an institution."The bill passed the House of Representatives by 360:20.In the Senate, the bill also received unanimous bipartisan support.

Philadelphia, Atlantic City, Chicago, San Francisco, and Black Mountain, South Dakota, all wanted to compete with New York City to house the United Nations in their cities and offer land for its use tax-free.Only Greenwich, a small town in Connecticut, voted violently against the new world organization, but some people thought it was because the locals opposed Wilkie and his book "One World, One Family", Use this to vent your anger.Senator Arthur Vandenberg in his Waldman Park now called Sheraton Park.Still on the corner of Connecticut Avenue and the NW turn of Woodley Road.It is still a residential area for some famous MPs.After months of serious consideration, the residence finally changed its mind and believed that the world could only be lived through international interdependence.For him, this is a historic shift.During the war, he once hid from an air raid in the basement of London. German missiles flew into the sky and shook the earth. He said to his entourage: "With such weapons, how can human beings still stay out of it or remain isolated?" Fan Breaking through the resistance of the party's isolationists, Ten Burgh told the silent Senate: "I have always said publicly that we must protect America on our own. I still believe that, with or without the cooperation of other countries, we will never We can no longer let our national defense force drop to the point of incompetence. But I don’t believe that any country can achieve security by relying on its own strength in the future. I think the United States should cooperate with all countries in the world to the maximum extent... I think public international law must With a dignity and authority that it has never had before. I think our vital interest demands that."

Senators from both parties stood up and applauded Vandenberg warmly.The newspaper praised his speech as "undoubtedly a great speech", "the most important speech in the Senate in eighty years", a "courageous oath to use force against all aggression", and a "guarantee that Munich will never appear again." Promise", is "a shot that shocked the world".Amidst the jubilation, a cannon was fired from the other side of the world, but Washington did not hear it.It turned out that Ho Chi Minh suppressed his anger and returned home from Paris, declared the independence of Vietnam, became president himself, and went to the mountains to fight guerrillas.However, the Far East Department of the State Council has not issued special instructions to the diplomats stationed there.After all, the insurgents were only locals, and they were nothing, and a few companies of US Marines could defeat them if necessary.But it is probably not necessary, because Vietnam is a French colony; with the French Foreign Legion, if there is any trouble, they can be dispatched to suppress it anytime and anywhere.

There is a meaning problem here, which is not easy to figure out.But to understand the post-war world political situation, one must have a certain understanding of the meaning of this term. Twenty-five years ago, the so-called "world", "free world", and even "United Nations" were not global concepts.Even when Secretary of State George Marshall delivered his famous speech at Harvard University in 1950, proposing the plan that was later named after him, it can be seen from the wording of his speech that his so-called "world" was still limited to North America. , Western Europe and its allies and dependencies.There was no "third world" or anything like that.You may be surprised, but the New Year's Day Declaration issued in the name of the "United Nations" in 1942 was signed by only 26 countries: that is, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and Kuomintang China; five British Dominions; eight countries that were still enslaved by Nazi Germany. countries and nine South American republics.In short, a so-called coalition country is one that promises to defeat Hitler. In 1945, there were only four independent countries in Africa: Egypt, where the British still had great influence, Libya, the strange puppet of the United States, Ethiopia, which had just been liberated from Italian fascism, and South Africa, which was and still is ruled by white oligarchy.By the time of the victory over Japan, the number of member states of the United Nations had increased to 51, which included some newly liberated European countries, Scandinavian countries, and small countries scattered on various continents.But the United Nations is still like a gentleman's club, where you can clap your hands and say "Boy," and the servants will come and wait for orders.You can also show that you have every right to say "I am self-sufficient, white, and over 21 years old" without offending other members, including black-skinned members.In other words, the surrounding neighbors have not yet started to move because of the increase in blacks. On the colorful island of Manhattan in New York City, there are many unusually prosperous areas, one of which is the luxurious 70th Street in the East Side.Banquets are held here after the war and usually begin with a cocktail.The most popular at the time was "Sea Breeze," a mix of gin and citrus juice.As you ask for a drink, you make it clear that first, you never watch TV, and second, that you think Christian Dior must be crazy.When it comes to the first point, you may be telling the truth or you may be lying.But on the second point, you are completely wrong.Christian Dior's nerves are at least as normal as yours.At the end of the war he was just an obscure middle-aged Parisian couturier, but he was shrewd enough to figure out that American women still worshiped Parisian fashions blindly, and he was eager to revoke that obnoxious Washington administration's policy on wartime clothing as soon as possible. Regulation L-85 stipulated that their hems should not exceed two inches, shirts could have only one pocket, jacket cuffs could not be turned up, belts could not exceed two inches in width, coats could not have hoods or scarves sewn on, skirts No wider than 72 inches.In the five years since the fall of Paris, many American girls have become accustomed to wearing shirts without pockets and pleats, simple suits and short skirts, but this last point is a feast for the eyes of men.But Dior didn't think this would work. At the end of 1945, this outstanding fashion designer designed a wide skirt that was less than 12 inches from the ground. Make the men gasp.If the women became popular with his clothes, they would have to spend a fortune to buy all the clothes again.With a gesture of his hands, he won over the clothing industry with an annual turnover of 3 billion yuan and magazines exclusively for women, and agreed to his design. Magazines like Harper's Market, Hipster, and Pretty went berserk.A writer cheered: "Your breasts, shoulders and hips are round, your waist is thin, and your skirt is so wide, which means you have a pair of delicate legs. You are like you!" They trumpeted in beautifully printed pages against the barren, austere, drab styles of the past, and in favor of Dior's rich, extravagant, colorful (and expensive, of course) "new style." "New style", which has become the battle cry of the fashion industry in 1946.For American husbands, apart from the disappointment of never seeing a woman's bare legs again, there seems to be the prospect of paying for a wife's new dress: a taffeta afternoon dress costing just $1,000 in Arkansas. 17.95 yuan, if you buy the original goods made in Paris, it will cost 450 yuan.For wives, the issues involved are more complex.Most people also feel that the price is too expensive.Many people also think that such a V-shaped collar, narrow waist, hanging shoulders, half-length skirt, and a light organdy blouse that bursts from the tightly buttoned waist are really ugly. very.Not only that, but the sales pitches made them look like idiots.The text itself in these fashion magazines is bullshit: Vogue smirked and said, "The goodness of the prudent man is lost in this issue."If they bought this ridiculous new outfit, it would be tantamount to admitting that they were fools, weaklings, neurotic little fools.This kind of person is unreliable as a housekeeper, and it would be even more dangerous to let her go out. In fact, women have their own difficulties. They really have no other way, because society is still bound by various taboos. Of course, you can also say that it is bound by self-control.Their mother taught them to be modest and gentle when dealing with the world since they were young, so they did what they could do under the constraints of the conditions of the time in a fit of anger.In Kentucky, 676 professional women signed a manifesto against the new style, especially attacking the length of skirts, because girls like to show more legs, and no matter how powerful the sewing machine is, they cannot make short skirts longer.As a result, "just above the knee" clubs emerged in several cities; in Dallas, 1,300 "just above the knee" members wore short skirts just below the knee, marched in the downtown area, held up placards, and opposed following the French ass walk behind.Dior cried out in Paris: "My God, what have I done wrong?"-as if he didn't know it. The crisis appeared in 1946-1947.Millions of yards of printed chiffon and lace piled up in the warehouses of the Manhattan garment industry, waiting to be chosen by people in Little Rock, Denver and Seattle.Customers are also under a lot of pressure.When the girls meet another girl on the sidewalk, each of them struggles to figure out where to go in terms of dress.Some people adopt the attitude of the post-war third world, create new styles that are not exactly "new styles", and temporarily avoid the problem.For example, Britain still has to austerity everywhere, and is still implementing material rationing.The heels should be no higher than two inches, and the smart dressmakers of the Porto Bellou Road make good, cheap high-heeled flats with sturdy uppers. In 1946, American fashion designers made clothes with bare mid-waist again, and also designed a new horizontal buckle bra without straight straps.Towards Easter—that year it was April 6, 1947—the struggle was still undecided.Before long, the women seemed to soften all of a sudden.You can call them soft-boned and stupid, but none of these middle-class women, who have cash or bills, would want to wear old-fashioned clothes on Easter Sunday and look weird.As they file down the aisle, they demonstrate to the nation—that is to say, to their bemoaning husbands—that they are still the only foreigner when it comes to the manners of what is called “hautmonde.” From.And it is no accident that the word "high society" originated in France. After the struggle was over, the women not only hung the white flag and surrendered, but also acted as if they had never fought.They even walked around in espadrilles, clogs, soft boots, pointed-heeled "sandals," and Turkish hats adorned with veils, feathers, and even birdcages.It makes sense for shoemakers to make such bizarre products, because women wear such long skirts, and their legs are exposed to a limited extent. In this way, women with long calves want to use weird shoes, colorful nylon socks and various A variety of shoe straps attract attention.But those hats are completely unreasonable.The same goes for impractical gloves and oddly shaped handbags.If there is any social significance to doing this, it can only be said to express women's intuition, and it shows that women have the right to do wrong things, boring things, and change things. At a Manhattan dinner party, guests might be talking about the following topics as they sip ocean breezes or martinis: Larry McPhail bought the Yankees baseball team for $3 million; Nicola Murray Butler Retires; Pope Canonizes Four New Americans as Cardinals; University of Denver National Center for Public Opinion Reports 36% of Americans Expect America to be at War Again Within 25 Years , and another 23% expect another war in 50 years, but only 20% think that the Second World War will be the last world war, and the talk is a little bit lower at this time.The poll was conducted in late 1945, before the American public knew how shaky America's relationship with Stalin had become. In those years, the banquets held in the Seventies on the East Side were all formal, and one could not dress casually.Men wear black ties and women wear tuxedos.The guests took their seats at tables covered with snow-white tablecloths.The guest of honor sits on the right of the host, and men and women sit alternately, and the one next to him cannot be his spouse.According to the rules, you and the guests on the left and right should be treated equally when talking and entertaining.Finally, when the wine was finished and the candles were about to run out, the men and women got up and separated.The gentlemen drank brandy and smoked Havanas with their hosts, while the ladies went upstairs and did what they would do on such occasions.They usually have some time to talk about popular topics of special interest.For example, Yale University pediatrician Arnold Gesell's "The First Five Years of Life", which was still a bestseller at the time, usually caused discussion in the dressing room. (Two books, The Robe and Peace of Mind, were even better sellers, but it would have been social suicide to talk about them in front of these ladies.) Back then, women loved handbags and hats. To match the clothes, I also like to put black silk beauty spots on my face, and print my large bust on new calico clothes.Women are paying as much attention to the technological revolution as they are on the farm.The advent of synthetic fibers changed their lives, whether in Manhattan or in Iowa.Servants have all but disappeared, as has the need to hire servants.Less than a year after the victory over Japan, electric clothes dryers appeared in electronics stores.And in the late 1940s, housewives were buying 225,000 automatic dishwashers and 750,000 garbage disposals a year. In 1947, frozen fresh orange juice was also launched.Of course, some of the new gadgets are absurd.For example, Jean Otis Reineker, a young industrial designer in Chicago, patented an electric guitar that could crank up the pitch to the point where the eardrums couldn't bear it.People commented: After all, we're a free country, and we know it has all kinds of people, but some of them are really dead.